Derek Kirk Kim has put some pages from The Eternal Smile up for sale. They look gorgeous in the book, but the originals are absolutely breath-taking. Something about watercolor doesn't scan quite right, so you really have to see these in person to get the full effect. They're pure 100% awesomeness.

Just got back from the crush of humanity that is Comic-Con International. It was fun, it was tiring, it was geeky. Not that I minded -- those are my people. I have to say, though, comics' presence seems to be diminishing. Movies and video games and television were drawing big crowds. There were definitely a good number of folks walking through the comics aisles, but it just didn't seem as lively as it used to be.

The Eisner has got to be one of the most awesome-looking awards ever. It's like a miniature Daily Planet building. You half-expect a miniature Superman to fly out from the back. Good job, Gentle Giant!

I mentioned my editor Mark Siegel during our acceptance speech, but he really deserves more than just a mention. Mark is a visionary-- First Second started off as a small group of synapses firing at each other in his brain. Now it's a true home for cartoonists. Comics from around the world converge in its halls. Storytellers from a variety of media mingle in its parlor. Book culture and comics culture swap ideas in the kitchen. There's nowhere else quite like it, and I can't tell you how lucky I am to be a part of Mark's dream. Beyond this, I can boast about having an editor who is a better cartoonist than me. I can also boast about having an editor who's a friend. Thanks, Mark!

Outside of those times, I'll be at Artists' Alley table GG-19 with Wayne Lo .

Yesterday at their Comic-Con panel, Marvel announced the second volume of Strange Tales , an anthology where indie comics creators are asked for their take on a Marvel character of their choice. When Marvel editor Jody LeHeup approached me for a story, the 12-year-old boy inside of me peed his pants.

I did a short little story about my absolute favorite Marvel character ever, The Fabulous Frog-man. Who is the Fabulous Frog-man, you ask? Why he's Eugene Patilio, the son of failed supervillian Leap Frog! After dear old dad retired from crime, Gene decided to use the Leap Frog's spring-loaded super-suit for good!

When I was in fifth grade, my friend Jeremy figured out that we could get our parents to drop us off at the library, sneak out of the library, walk about 20 minutes to a comic book store, buy comics, sneak back into the library, and then check out big books to hide our comics in so we could bring them home. On my first such outing, I bought Marvel Team-Up #131, featuring Spider-man and the Fabulous Frog-man. It was Frog-man's second adventure ever.

Jeremy and I actually got into a fight over that book. I found the only copy in the store, but he really wanted it because he had Marvel Team-Up #121, which had Frog-man's first adventure ever.